It was a cloudy day today but this picture still gives you an idea of this year’s tomato structure. It was made specifically for growing tomatoes. The structure is supported by four 10 foot fencing posts driven deep enough that there should be no stability issues. The rest is mainly bamboo that I’ve dried from a stand of bamboo that I’ve been trying to get rid of for years now. Each plant is in a 10 to 20 gallon grow pot (made of fabric) and filled with potting soil. The reason for the fencing is that I have a semi-lame cat named Daniel (after Lieutenant Dan) who thinks the grow pots are his and he loves to lay on them. The fencing is high enough that he will not try climbing over. The other cat that we belong to could easily make it over but she isn’t interested. I have left a few of the half-filled pots specifically for Daniel in his favorite places.
On this day there is no sun because we had a good rain last night and more is on the way. I am always thankful to the good Lord for rain. There is a larger garden area on the property but because of Oak trees, some pine trees, and a nice hickory tree that I refuse to cut down, the area designed for a garden gets little sun. So, this is my effort in a sunny area. This area did pretty well last year. I know the plants are too close together but I’ve packed them closer together before so I continue to experiment. Every year this thing looks a bit different. It is larger this year as each year I’ve continued to add more pots. I’m behind the professional growers because I start my plants from seed and am in no hurry as we have such a long growing season. If you click on the picture to enlarge it you might be able to see the little yellow flowers where a few tomatoes are already forming. I have several varieties in this small area so I know I might get some cross pollination but that only makes things more interesting. In this space there are Beefsteak tomatoes, Betterboy tomatoes, Cosmonaut Volkov tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, and a few Sun Gold cherry tomato plants.
To keep the foliage and disease down, I pinch out the suckers of the plant varieties that are indeterminate. The Romas (determinates) are the only ones I don’t bother doing that with. This keeps things under control as the season continues. Each plant will only have one main stem growing up each piece of bamboo. To keep certain bugs away, each pot contains one or more marigold plants. Some say they also keep snakes away. By the end of the season, I should have marigolds in many places. They are so easy to grow and transplant.
I do use a touch of miracle grow when the seedlings are developing and I make sure to use a pinch of lime in my growing media. By the time the plants are the size of the ones in this picture, I use only organic fertilizers and the pest control is all safe for humans. I spray the plants a few times a year with a BT/Cal-Mag/Kelp combo spray that I mix that is over 95% water. That keeps the hornworms down some. I do end up having to remove some hornworms by hand every year.
And that’s this year’s attempt. I’ll probably write two more posts on this thing during the growing season. I’m curious to see how it does and you might be too.
God’s blessings…
Chris Reimers
The next day…in full sun!
Wings of the Wind 
Impressive work, Chris. Home grown tomatoes are the best! Do keep us updated on the garden progress.
Thank you, Sue. They are the best and every year is different. Thank you for your kind comment and I will definitely give an update in a month or two.
Wow! That’s a pretty impressive setup, Chris. I hope you get a bumper crop of tomatoes this year. My next door neighbor has a tomato and vegetable patch in his front yard but it’s too early to plant in Rochester.
Thank you, Tom. Last year was the best year I’ve ever had for tomatoes even though we had a pretty good dry spell. If I equal that I will be pleased. I have a neighbor named Tom who lives across the street. He stopped planting his garden a few years ago due to health issues. He’s first on my list for sharing tomatoes. Thank you for your well wishes!
Chris, thanks for sharing your post on the “tomato teepee 2026.” I will share this with my daughter who is most into growing everything around here. There’s some good advice in this article too! Yes, just as in the spiritual realm… we need the rain too.
You’re welcome, Elizabeth. I hope your daughter has a successful year of gardening. Something in this post may help her. If she grows tomatoes there is one thing that I didn’t know for years that has made a huge difference in the amount of tomatoes I get. She probably already knows this but I went for years with no clue. Some people use an electric toothbrush to do the job. I don’t think you have to go that far. I do the same thing as the man in the following video. When the flowers are open, I just tap on the step holding the flowers so that the flowers vibrate. It takes hardly any time and I do it while working on other things. Since tomatoes are self-pollinating this makes sense. My yields have at least doubled since I’ve been doing this.
Speaking of the spiritual realm, I pray for my little garden. I know it isn’t a big thing but we are supposed to pray about all things.
Thank you for your comment!
We need rain so bad here! Nathan also grows tomatoes from seed! We have deer so that’s been an adventure to navigate. Some of the tomatoes look down right hideous, but they taste delicious! Nothing like a homegrown tomato! I look forward to your updates!
For what it’s worth, I really want to start growing herbs, what I haven’t decided is if I want to do this inside (where) or outside. The last two years my parsley did really well outside so I may just stick with that. If you have any tips, I’m all ears! Thanking God for you and Hannah!!!!
Thank you for your comment, Mandy. We’ve had a dry spring as well to the point of burn bans a while back. We have finally gotten enough rain that everything is really greening. I hope the same happens there. We have deer here as well but I don’t see them very often. Once I drove up and saw a huge one right between the fences in this picture.
If Nathan doesn’t know about vibrating tomato flowers, you may want to share the video that I shared with Elizabeth here. He probably already knows about it but I didn’t for years and it has really made a difference.
As far as herbs go, I do the same as with everything else – I only grow what is easy to grow. For me that has been basil and mint. I haven’t really tried anything else to be honest. We use the mint for tea and my wife makes a pesto out of the basil. I haven’t even planted any basil seeds yet but the mint is already looking pretty good. If you grow mint, I recommend growing it in a container to contain it. If it gets loose in a garden, it can take over. The only other thing that I grow that’s close to an herb is garlic. Actually, I grow elephant garlic which is really a leek. I grow that in the garden area that gets little sun and they still grow. I do have some mint out there as well but with no sun it doesn’t get away from me. Elephant garlic tastes like garlic but it has a milder flavor. It is much larger than regular garlic and, left in the ground for a second season, it divides and you can get quite a yield. What you do with it once you’ve grown it is another question. My wife has made garlic bread and a garlic paste out of it but I don’t think I even bothered to bring any of it in last year because the cooking prep is time consuming.
I wish I could be more help but mint tea is great when it gets hot in mid-summer.
Thank you for your kind words, Mandy. May God bless you, Nathan, and Chad.
Lastly, I do have a soft spot for hideous looking tomatoes. I’m sure Nathan gets some decent looking ones like I do but the ugly ones that taste so good only means that the grower isn’t using some kind of chemical pesticide that might make for better looking tomatoes that aren’t as healthy for you.
Home grown tomatoes and other produce are the best. My parents had a small strip of ground and made the most of it. The garden always yielded an abundance. They even had a fig tree in New York’s cold climate. In the winter they would wrap it up to keep it sheltered from the cold and snow. That fig tree yielded literally buckets of figs. I would bring some to work for my coworkers to enjoy. It’s enjoyable to read about your garden. Keep us updated. Enjoy!
Thank you for sharing, Cathy. That fig tree story is nice. Growing up in California we had an orange and a lemon tree in our backyard. Our lemon tree was like your fig tree. We had a lemonade stand every year. The orange tree only had fruit every 3 or 4 years or so but when it put out it did well, too. That’s a great memory and how smart your parents were to wrap the tree!
You can see that I’m doing this tomato growing in a pretty small area here in Arkansas. It is amazing what you can do in a small place if it gets lots of sun. I will definitely update this in a month or so. Thanks.
How nostalgic all you people make me feel – I could certainly cultivate vegetables, but all that must be done in and outside and about the house overwhelms me. I only have a pear tree and apple trees. The trees are about 100 years old now. The pears no longer ripen, but the flowers in spring are a dream. Up to last year I have had home made apple jam all year and have not had to buy apples. – Tomatoes and figs and lemon and orange trees and herbs… sound so nice, home-grown and tasty.
Home-made translation of a verse from a poem of ours:
“You should not tread on the grass – the tiny sprout must be allowed to stand – speechless life too has a meaning – which you should see and think about. – On God’s earth and in his garden – you yourself are a tiny straw.”
( A bit about wrapping trees later maybe – – )
Hi Marianne. It is so good to hear from you. I’ve been thinking about you lately and was about to email you to make sure things are okay. I really need to get on that post about the strange way our president acts. I think I’ll be getting to that soon (Have I been saying that for awhile now?).
I think, at your age, you should relax and do what you can. I know that’s easy for me to say but I’m sure in 10 years or so, if God gives me that much time, I’ll be overwhelmed to some degree, too. The fact that you had apple jam all year and did not have to buy apples is nothing to sneeze at. One hundred year old apple trees mean they have been tended well.
Thank you for sharing that poem. I like it and It certainly puts things in perspective.
I’m glad this post brought back good memories. One of the reasons I’ve published this is so that I can look back on it some day and remember some of my “methods” and have a good laugh (or cry).
I hope all is well there and thank you for this comment. I hope you have a great day and may God bless you!